Featuring hand picked West African recordings
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Welcome to the Cora Connection Music Catalog
Featuring hand picked West African recordings |
Alhaji Bai Konte This album by the late Kora legend Alhaji Bai Konte, captures the spirit and beauty of the Mandinka kora, recorded in intimate settings in the Gambia. Includes two previously unissued bonus tracks. If there were only one kora recording in your music collection, this would be an excellent choice! CD & Cassette
Listen to Alla L'aa ke, played by Alhaji Bai Konte. [400K Mp3 Format]
Malamini Jobarteh & Dembo Konte "Jaliya" (cassette only)
Manding musicians Dembo Konte and Malamini Jobarteh toured Europe and North America in late
70's with Dembo's father, kora virtuoso Alhaji Bai Konte. This rare
duet recording features Dembo and Malamini, second-generation kora masters playing
the traditional Manding repertoire and filling out their performances with
resonant vocals.
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Kausu Kuyateh is one of first jelis or hereditary musicians to add extra bass strings to the kora. Born in Guinea-Bissau, which was part of the ancient Kabou empire, Kausu with his 24 string kora, is renowned for his masterful version of the musical style, called Yeyengo. This style is played in a kora tuning know as Tomora Ba. The tuning has a bluesy minor sound, similar to the western dorian mode. On "Kairaba Jabi" jeli Kausu Kuyateh and Dembo Konte, play and sing with a passion that is unmatched! This compact disc includes all the tracks from their 1987 release. "Simbomba--The Great Hunter", (now out of print). |
| Kausu Kuyateh and Dembo Konte |
![[Photo of Tata with Kora]](../images/TataSmall.jpg)
Ebrahima "Tata Dindin" Jobarteh is the oldest son of kora jáli Malamini Jobarteh. Born in 1965 in Brikama, the Gambia, Tata started learning the kora when he was 6 years old. Today he plays a version of the Yenyengo style. This kora style originated in the Kabou region, which is now kown as (Portuguese) Guinea Bissau. Many kora Jelis play this modern style along the costal areas of the Gambia and Senegal's Casamance region. The Yenyengo style is typicaly played on a kora with 22 or more strings.
Tata's contemporary style is very popular with the Gambian youth. With his electric band Salam he is a folk hero, singing about changes in traditional society, explaining the reasons for inoculations campaigns and the important work of the Red Cross.
This is Tata's debut recording on World Network (Germany). On Salam, Tata is un-plugged and accompanies his acoustic kora performance with vocals. Available on compact disc only.
Saikou Jobarteh "At Home"
This is a rare recording of kora jeli, Saikou Jobarteh.
Recorded direct to DAT (Digital audio tape) at his home
in the Gambia. Available on cassette only -- 90 minutes of great music traditional Mandinka kora music.
special price: $11
Pa Bobo is a fourth generation kora jali (musician). The son of Malamini Jobarteh and the younger brother of Tata Ding Ding Jobarteh. On this debut recording for Real World we find ourselves visiting with the younger Jobarteh family members and friends who make up the Kaira band. At a fisherman's hut in the beach side village of Gunjur we relax while enjoying a duet played by Pa on kora with his friend Haruuna Jassy on balaphone. Its late afternoon as the sun is starting to set, Pa's Kaira band is entertaining at a kulliyoo--naming ceremony. Even though Kaira means peace, the band has their PA system cranked up loud and is playing music for dancing and partying. Other tracks include mora peaceful tracks with solo kora. Recorded on location in The Gambia, this compact disc captures the authentic feeling of the local popular Manding music.
Born Mohamadu Lamin Suso, Jali Nyama is acknowledged as one of the great kora players of this century. This recording dates back to 1972, originally released by Ocora and later by Tangent. This long playing (69 minutes) compact disc contains rare performances of the late Jali Nyama's wonderful kora playing and soulful singing. Included is a highly detailed booklet in English, French and German.
Yan Kuba Kora Music from the Gambia
This specially priced compact disc is a contemporary collection of intimate performances by Gambian jali-ba, Yan Kuba Saho and his wife jali-musoo, Bintu Suso. With his masterful kora accompaniment filled upbeat funky bass lines and cascading arpeggio's Saho's sings about history, friends, patrons and even his late uncle and kora teacher Faal Suso. Yan Kuba's wife Jali-musoo Bintu Suso sings backup and taps rhythmically on the back of the kora's calabash body, -- traditionally known as 'konkondiro.' (A jali-musoo is a female musician or singer.)
Read more about Yan Kuba and check out his unique kora style
Amadu Bansang Jobarteh Tabara (compact disc or cassette)
One of the oldest living kora masters, Jobarteh first earned an international
reputation when he played at Peter Gabriels WOMAD festival. This studio
recording of this Gambian jeli (griot) is both a rarity and a gem.
Jobarteh's Malian brother, the late kora legend
Sidiki Diabate. (Note that the French pronounce Diabate as Jobarteh,
the "D" takes on the sound of a "J").
![[Film Strip Icon]](../images/Movie.gif)
Here is [2.9 meg] quicktime movie of Amadu Bansang Jobarteh playing the kora.
This video excerpt comes from personal field recordings of Eric Charry made in Kembujeh, The Gambia in 1992.
Quicktime movie courtesy and copyright © Eric Charry all rights reserved
Toumani Diabaté has been called the Malian prince of kora. He is the son of the late Sidiki Dibiaté, who is featured with Bartou Sékou Jobartéh and Djelimadi Sissoko on the "Premiere Anthologie De La Musique Malienne, Chords Anciennes" recording.
Toumani's premier recording Kaira was released in 1988. His solo performance sounded liked two kora players at times. In fact the back of the of compact disc states "this recording was made entirely live and unaccompanied -- there is no double-tracking." While Cora Connection's Dave Gilden was traveling in the Gambia many young kora players talked about this one recording!
Joining Toumani on Dejika, (named after his young daughter) are long time musical collborators, Ba Sékou Kouyaté playing the 4 string banjo like ngoni and Keletigui Diabaté on the twenty one wooden key balaphones (African xylophone). Keletigui is one of Mali's first musicians to blend jazz and traditional folk music, playing two balaphones tuned a half step apart so that he can have access to the all the notes, like a piano!
On "New Ancient Strings"
Toumani is joined by his longtime Bamako neighbor, kora player Djelimoussa Ballake
(pronounced-- Bell-a-kay) Sissoko, for a breathtaking beautiful series of duets.
(Theirfathers, Sidiki Diabaté, and Djelimadi Sissoko played on the orginal recording "Chords Anciennes").
Coming from another direction, veteran blues innovator Taj Mahal traces the roots
of American blues back to Africa on the new album "Kulanjan", which features six top
Malian singers and musicians, including Toumani.
With his debut CD Tunga Malian musician Mamadou
Diabaté, is currently taking the U.S. world music scene by storm. Tunga which
means "adventure," features Mamadou on kora with Fuseini on ngoni, Famoro Diabaté
on balafon, Fode Seydou Bangoura on djembe, and American bassist Ira Coleman. Guest
vocalist Abdoulaye Diabaté makes an appearance on two tracks.
"This debut from a young Malian now living in the US puts all kora players on notice with its vitality, scope, and shimmering musicianship." Banning Eyre, The Boston Phoenix.
![[CD Cover]](../images/mandingo.jpg)
Kora jali, Foday Musa Suso traces his ancestry back through the generations to
Jalimadi Wolengo Suso, widely believed to be the first kora player. Born in the Gambia,
Suso moved to America in 1977 making Chicago his new residence. There with the help
of American musicians he founded the Mandingo Griot Society. During his first year
in the States Suso recorded two albums of traditional kora music for Lyrichord and
Folkways. With Mandingo Griot Society's second release ("Mighty Rhythm") the band
toured Europe for two years. Susso went on to work with Herbie Hancock and bassist
&producer Bill Laswell to create theme music for The 1984 Olympic Games. Hancock
later invited Suso to play on the "Rocket It" album and to tour with his band. Suso
is featured on the Philip Glass film soundtrack "Powaqattsi" and has composed music
for the Kronos Quartet. Collaborating with Bill Laswel, Suso has produced a number
of recordings featuring not only the Manding and Fula musical traditions (heard on
"Ancient Heart") but venturing into electro-kora funk territory with the release of
"New World Power" and "Possession African Dub." Their latest offering "Jeli Kunda"
takes you on a journey to West Africa to share Jali Foday Musa Suso extended family's
... (cont.)
The Mandingo Griot Society was active in the late seventies and early eighties. Playing a unique musical style that is best described as a fusion of Manding traditional and modern American jazz music. This is the Mandingo Griot Societys 1978 premier recording, produced by percussionist Adam Rudolph. [compact disc]
Two great unpluged sets of music from Senegal, featuring Seck's killer vocals with guitar, kora, xalam [4-string lute, pronounced halam] and sabar drums. Afro-Pop vocal star Baaba Maal makes a guest apperance. [Compact disc only]
YelayoThe latest release from this Senegalese singer. Dark sounding xalam lines and bright kora counterpoint blend effortlessly with Seck's melodic acoustic guitar phrasing. Female background vocals replace the sabar drums heard on his earlier releases.
Kaouding Cissoko
"Kora Revolution" The prices for the recordings listed on this page range from $12 to $17 (CDs) and $10 to $12 for cassettes. An email will be sent with current prices for the recordings that interest you.
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